Rates, estimates, and delivery times

This page transparently describes rates, operating procedures, and indicative timelines. SB-LAB is a one-person artisan laboratory. To ensure quality and sustainable workloads, I can only accept jobs that follow clear and shared operating methods. Reading this information helps avoid misunderstandings and allows both parties to work with peace of mind.

Laboratory operating priorities

SB-LAB was created as a repair laboratory for vacuum tube audio equipment, an activity that still represents the core of my work. Over time, also due to specific requests and in a non-planned manner, I have begun to handle repairs of ignition control units for vintage cars and automotive instruments such as magnetizers and coil testers. These activities remain secondary compared to audio equipment repair, which is given priority. Work on ignition units and automotive instrumentation is therefore carried out only when the main workload allows it and does not follow timelines comparable to audio repairs.

Custom audio equipment manufacturing

Alongside repair activities, I also build custom audio equipment such as amplifiers and preamplifiers. It is essential to clarify that building custom equipment necessarily requires long production times. Designing and building equipment correctly, safely, and in compliance with current regulations requires many hours of work and cannot be compared to improvised assemblies lacking proper safety criteria. All mechanical parts, including chassis, metalwork, and supports, are produced by external suppliers, with additional technical lead times. For this reason, anyone commissioning custom equipment must expect several months of waiting time, indicatively up to six. At the end of the work, the customer will receive equipment compliant with CE regulations, complete with an instruction manual and statutory warranty, not an improvised contraption or an “electric chair” assembled without safety criteria.

Transformers, inductors, and kits: prices and estimates

For information on prices of transformers, inductors, and transformer kits, please inquire on a case-by-case basis. Due to cost variability, no prices are listed on the website. Any prices shown in older articles that have not yet been updated should not be considered valid.

I do not keep products in stock. Every transformer or inductor is made to order, according to the required specifications. Please note that, in accordance with Article 59 of the Consumer Code, the right of withdrawal does not apply to goods made to measure or clearly personalized.

Repairs: what I handle and what I do not handle

For the repair of HiFi equipment and musical instrument amplifiers, an hourly rate of 35 euros per hour applies, plus the cost of materials. For vintage car radios, the hourly rate is 35 euros per hour, plus the cost of materials and spare parts used, such as tubes, capacitors, resistors, and similar components.

I do not provide service for transistor amplifiers or radios, vintage household radios, supermarket compact systems, digital equipment, or other non-tube electronic devices, with the exception of Porsche and Maserati ignition control units, magnetizers, and coil testers, which are handled depending on the main workload.

Repair intake procedures

In recent years I have experienced work overload issues that led to very long delivery times. To reduce backlogs and properly manage requests, I have adopted a more selective approach to accepting repairs.

• I usually accept devices for repair immediately. If I am experiencing a period of heavy workload, I may ask clients to wait before delivering or shipping devices.
• I do not perform while-you-wait repairs, unless the intervention truly requires only a few minutes.
• Repairs are handled in order of arrival, based on the device delivery date.
• Once the work is completed, I will contact the client to arrange pickup or shipment.

Running SB-LAB alone, I can only accept a volume of work compatible with my operational capacity. For this reason, I cannot guarantee precise timelines, even for birthdays or holiday periods.

Unrepairable equipment

Sometimes, after disassembling a device, it may emerge that it is unrepairable for various reasons. In such cases, if the client has no objections, I will reassemble the device and return it as is, without any additional cost.

However, for particularly complex devices, such as some tube amplifiers, reassembly may require many hours of work. If the client decides to dispose of it or sell it for spare parts, it does not make sense to invest time in full reassembly. In such situations, the device will be returned disassembled, again free of charge.

If the client still requests full reassembly, they will need to cover the cost of the hours required to perform the work. If the client insists on attempting to repair a device that I have already declared unrepairable and, after further checks or attempts, I am forced to stop work due to excessive issues encountered, the client will still be required to pay for all labor carried out up to that point, in addition to the cost of any parts purchased or manufactured, such as transformers or other components. In all cases, the device will be returned non-functioning or disassembled.

If the device is irrecoverable and the client prefers not to retrieve it, I am available to evaluate purchasing it for dismantling and parts recovery.

For those who change their mind

If you have a device waiting for repair, you may request its return “as is”, meaning in the same condition in which I received it, including any damage caused by couriers during the initial shipment, at any time, paying only the return shipping costs.

If the device is already in the repair phase, there are two options:

• wait for the completion of the work;
• accept the return of an incomplete device that is no longer in its original condition.

In this case, it will be necessary to cover the cost of the labor hours already spent and all materials used, including any transformers commissioned for the repair, even if not yet installed in the device.

Transformers: winding and rewinding

The production of new transformers from scratch or the rewinding of faulty transformers may require from one to four weeks, depending on workload. In case of unforeseen events that extend timelines, especially for rewinding work, the client will be promptly contacted by email or phone.

Pickups and workshop space

I have no problem storing devices until I can find the time to repair them. However, once the repair is completed, I need to free up space and prefer that finished devices be collected as soon as possible.

After two weeks from the completion of the repair, I will apply a fee of 2 euros for each additional day of delay in pickup. This charge does not apply in cases where in-person pickup is requested instead of shipping.

“Blocked” restorations and indefinite waiting

On some occasions, I have worked on devices, especially vintage amplifiers, that required original spare parts of extreme rarity and difficulty to source. It may happen that the necessary components are identified, but the client considers them too expensive and prefers to wait indefinitely for a “perfect” opportunity.

Since restoration requires flexibility and operational continuity, I reserve the right to interrupt work if I believe that the intervention may remain suspended and incomplete for an indefinite period due to unpredictable waiting times. In such cases, I will request permission to return the item incomplete and will require compensation for the time already dedicated to the repair.